Netherlands national team may not be performing well at the moment, but the U19’s claimed their third win in five days after seeing off Poland 2-1 in the Euro 2015 qualifiers.
- By Michael Bell
- Follow Michael on Twitter
Aron Winter’s side saw off Andorra 7-0 and Moldova 3-0 last week, and knew a win or draw against Poland, the hosts, would see them top the group and qualify for the elite round as one of the top seeds. The winners, and runners up from the initial group stage qualify for the elite round in Greece, with eight teams then going on too participate in the full tournament next summer, and look to gain entry in the Under 20 World Cup.
Netherlands U19’s controlled the game from the start, but fell behind six minutes before the break when Kamil Dankowski’s 30-yard free kick flew into the top corner. However the lead did not last wrong and Ajax midfielder Abdelhak Nouri fired the Dutch level just before half time.
In the second half Twente winger Bilal Ould Chikh came close to giving Netherlands the lead with a close range shot that was tipped over the bar by the Polish goalkeeper. Finally 15 minutes before the end Nouri’s cross to the back post was headed in by Utrecht winger Issa Kallon to give Netherlands the lead.
Poland could have equalised before the end, but Kelvin Verdonk’s misjudged back-pass came back off the post, and PSV goalkeeper Yanick van Osch pulled off a terrific last minute save to ensure Netherlands victory.
Twenty-seven teams head to the elite round early next year, and will be split into groups of four, with the winners progressing onto the tournament next summer.
Follow
Follow @Footballoranje_ on Twitter
